A memorial service will be held at noon on Sept. 3 at Wesley Methodist
Church in Rush Tower, Mo., for Richard Ralph Nugent, a former resident of
Grafton. Richard died peacefully on Thursday, July 13, 2006 with Grace
(his beloved bride of 51 years) by his side, at his home in Thailand, at
the age of 74. Burial will take place at Concord Cemetery in Bloomsdale,
following the memorial service. On July 15, Richard was honored by his
Muslim friends on the island of Koh Yoh Noi in Thailand, and was cremated
following a service at the Buddhist Temple of Wat Tharua in Phuket.

Richard had a wonderful sense of humor and never-ending curiosity of
the world. He was born in St. Louis, Mo., on Feb. 18, 1932, son of Ralph
and Selma Nugent. As a young man, he lived in Brickeys, Mo., and graduated
from Festus High School. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the
Korean conflict.

Richard married Grace Harman, and shortly after their marriage, the
couple moved to Milwaukee. He attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering
and had a long career protecting the environment. During the early years,
the family resided in Milwaukee, Colgate, Hartford and Dawson, Ill. In
1968, they finally settled in Grafton and lived there for 22 years.

In 1990, Richard and Grace moved to Crawford, Colo., where they owned
the Van Engen House Bed and Breakfast and the Crawford Gun Shop. Richard
continued to consult on global wastewater management, which took him to
Canada, Mexico, Paraguay, Russia and China. During a business trip to
China, Richard, then 64 years old, decided to make a career change. After
he graduated at age 69 from Western State College in Gunnison, Colo.,
Richard and Grace returned to Kunming, China where they taught English at
Wu Jie International School. In 2003, they retired in Thailand. Richardís
final days were spent enjoying his island home at Lom Laeí Resort, on
Koh Yao Noi, Thailand.